An Executive Plan
by Caz251
Summary: Cynthia comes up with a plan for her future, and Brian's and Justin's after Stockwell.


Cynthia Moore knew that she was lucky, despite what all the other personal assistants at Ryder, now Vanguard thought. She knew that they were both envious of her and pitied her at the same time. She worked for the most stunning man in the building, but he also had the biggest ego. The man was a tyrant, forever throwing his weight around in the art department and demanding things be done to his exacting standards.

She had gone out for drinks with some of the assistants recently and they had been full of praise for her for sticking with Kinney for so long. Cynthia didn't see her job as the chore the others made it out to be though. She liked working for Brian and probably got a better deal than any of the assistants in the building. They were only ever treated like PAs, answering calls, making appointments, routine things, Cynthia though her role was more varied. The other assistants complained that Mr Kinney made her do too much, that she shouldn't be doing research into companies or individuals for him. Cynthia enjoyed her job and the varied tasks that Brian set her. As his Executive Assistant he allowed her to voice her opinion on the clients he wanted to approach, provided that she had the research on the company to hand. He also provided her a very generous salary, a portion of which came from his own earnings, and any bonuses he received were split with her as well.

She knew that her luck and good fortune in her role were down to Brian and that she would never get the same treatment or benefits working with any of the other Ad Executives at Vanguard. That was why she was sat at her desk considering her options before her meeting with Vance later that afternoon. Brian had left Vanguard in disgrace if the gossip was to be believed, and her future was as a result was very uncertain. She had known before what would happen if Brian left Ryder, later Vanguard, for another agency, she would go with him. It had only been a few years since he had told her to start looking for an apartment for herself in Manhattan when he was hoping to move to New York to work for Kennedy and Collins.

Now though, from what she had heard, Brian would be lucky to get a job as a junior copywriter as no company would be willing to risk their large accounts with a man who had sabotaged a client like Brian had done with Stockwell. The clients on the other hand loved Brian and his vision, and several of his clients were severely unhappy that he was no longer managing their accounts. Cynthia had spent the last few days clearing up the mess that was Brian's departure. She had to contact all of his clients and inform them that Brian no longer worked for Vanguard and put them in contact with whichever executive was now going to be managing their account. It had been an arduous process, especially as she ended up speaking with quite a few angry people who had only signed with Ryder or Vanguard because of Brian. She had also received a lot of messages to pass on to the man offering support and pledging to follow him to whichever agency he ended up working for. The support of the clients had given Cynthia and idea, she just had to sell it to Brian. Maybe she should convince Justin first and he could help her to convince Brian.

Her meeting with Vance went just about as she expected it would. Now that Brian was no longer there her only option to remain with the company would be to become just a personal assistant to the new ad executive that would be taking Brian's place. The salary would be a lot less than she was currently making, but it would be a better option for her than being unemployed. She couldn't do it though, she couldn't return to such a boring role, not after working for Brian for so long. Instead she turned down the offer, agreeing to work her notice and finish shutting down Brian's operations before she left.

Cynthia retreated back to her desk, knowing that the news that she was leaving would make its rounds of the building before the end of the day. She would no doubt be visited by all the other assistants trying to convince her to stay, that they got good benefits and that Kinney didn't deserve her loyalty. Cynthia just smiled at them and thanked them for their concern, telling them that she was sure that everything would work out okay for her. She just needed to get through the day before she could go to Brian and try to sell him her vision.

Cynthia knew that recruiting Justin to help her convince Brian was the way to go. She knew that Brian would never agree to make Justin work as a one man art department, but if the younger man had the idea in mind he would push Brian to accept him in that role. Convincing Brian to take a chance on her idea was easier than she had imagined, after all he couldn't sink any lower at the moment. No agency would take him on, but the clients loved him, opening his own agency wasn't as big a risk as it once would have been, as he didn't have much left to lose. There wasn't a no compete clause in his contract with Ryder or Vanguard either so he was free to poach his clients back from Vanguard.

What they really needed to get off the ground other than a name was a couple of big clients to be able to get the business up and running. Cynthia would use her notice period to scope out the clients that would be willing to break their current contract with Vanguard rather than waiting until their contract expired to follow Brian to his new agency. In her opinion they needed to steal the Brown Athletics contract to let Vance know they meant business, and maybe another account like Eyeconics to make sure they had a solid base to build from.

By the time Cynthia finished working for Vance Brian and Justin should have the copy and artwork ready to pitch to Leo Brown and she could go straight from working at Vanguard to a position in Kinnetic where she was much more than a simple personal assistant.


End file.
